Inside AJC

A large banner in memory of the victims of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting is unfurled before an NBA basketball game in Miami on Saturday, Feb. 24, 2018, between the Miami Heat and the Memphis Grizzlies. (AP Photo/Gaston De Cardenas) Photo: Gaston De Cardenas/AP

“Tonight, we honor the 17 lives that were tragically lost in Parkland,” Wade said. “We applaud the fearless students that are fighting for their lives. We also make sure that their voices are heard around gun safety. You are our nation’s inspiration. We salute you and we support you.”

The Heat, who on Friday debuted a uniform patch to honor the victims, then honored each of the 17 victims on the video screen before Alex Wind, a Stoneman Douglas student and member of the school’s drama club, sang the national anthem.

“It’s an absolute honor for us to wear these patches,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said before Friday’s game in New Orleans. “I know I speak for everybody in that locker room and everybody in the organization, we are so very inspired by the leadership and courage and absolute fearlessness of the kids and young men and women at Stoneman Douglas. It’s such a tragic event, but we hear their voices, loud and clear. And we are behind them and this is only the start.”

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